The New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit is investigating a possible hate crime after a statue of Jesus on the cross was torn down and a U.S. flag was burned at a Brooklyn church.
The Diocese of Brooklyn said in a statement that the vandalism occurred early Friday morning at St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and was discovered by Monsignor David Cassato as he walked from the rectory to the church’s school.
The statue, which was installed in memory of Cassato’s mother in 2010, was toppled and broken into pieces in the incident. The diocese later discovered that the flag hanging in front of the rectory was burned by vandals. Read more…